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Manhattan Club Lawsuit
To all those who posted along the idea of participating with "include me" or count me in. You must send Mr. Zimmerman an email at the address posted yourself. No one at this time is sending your email addresses to him. In turn he will send out a questionnaire for you to fill out and then immediately return. At that time he will see what is the best strategy to move forward with one or more suits.
Finally, maybe some help. George
George M.
Yes, include me. Thank you Sue for all your time and effort. Also again a thank you to Bob for his research and report. With this as base I sent a letter about my own issues to the AG . They acknowledged the receipt. I will email Mr. Zimmerman too. Hope we get somewhere. Brigitte
Brigitte T.
Can someone give me the addresses of where to send our letters - I recall that we should send one to the Governor . I guess there is no reason to complain to the Attorney General's office since he has concluded his actions and totally let all of us down.
Gail J.
I wish to thank Sue and Bob for their time and effort in keeping the rest of us informed and for contacting JM Zimmerman, an experienced litigation attorney, to give us guidance for pursuing the next steps. What I learned from the teleconference call is that in order to pursue a class action suit against Eichner and his associates we, as owners of the TMC, need to find a common issue/complaint for fraud and criminal activities which can withstand the legal challenges in court. During the NYAG investigation, It came to light that one of Eichner's companies, the Urban Management LLC, pocketed $6.1 to $6.8 million per year for managing operations at the Manhattan Club. The judge also noted that Urban, which collected 20 percent of all owner maintenance fees annually, had no employees until August 2014. If this is proven, it is a start. If we all join together, we can fight them in court. There is strength in numbers and if we all get involved we are far more likely to prevail. Frauds should not be tolerated. Many owners just want to get out of the contract by not paying their maintenance fees. By so doing they inadvertently hurt the rest of the owners who are obliged to pay for their delinquencies. Any subsequent ligation expenses will also be borne by the timeshare owners. However, if all owners join together, we can win the battle. What we need now is to identify and obtain contact information of all TMC owners. We need to empower the Timeshare Members Association. We should contact as many of the owners as possible to enlist their support. Since the Manhattan Club will be unlikely to release their names and addresses, I would welcome any ideas on how we can identify and contact them.
I am re-posting an excellent summary of the initial timeline of the TMC investigation prepared by Jeff. Now the case is settled, It is up to all of us to act on our own behalves.
Posted by Jeff Redweek.com team July 26, 2016 LATEST INFORMATION ON MANHATTAN CLUB INVESTIGATIONS Thanks to all contributors to this forum. RedWeek has followed the club's issues for several years, predating the AG's investigation. Here is a recap of all relevant information as of this date. The AG got a court order July 2014 that shut down the club's timeshare operation and froze most assets. The AG's case was spurred entirely by TMC owner complaints and an undercover sting operation conducted by the AG's investigators, where they audio and video-taped sales presentations at the club. After securing the court order, the AG conducted a lengthy investigation of possible civil and criminal fraud, which continues to this day. The case has been held up by numerous legal challenges mounted by the club's sponsors, Eichner and company. The most recent legal rulings in the case, from May 26 and July 13, were provided by Judge Rakower, who dismissed all motions presented by the Eichners. Eichner's legal team had sought to close the investigation; to get the Eichners dismissed from the investigation; and to block under-oath depositions of the Eichners, association VP Scott Lager and the former director of sales. Rakower ruled July 13 that the depositions should proceed and that "any delay" would further harm owners saddled with maintenance fees and total uncertainty about the club's fate. Eichners attorneys filed motions to appeal the May 25 and July 13 rulings within hours of Rakower's decision to let the depositions go forward. Doug Wasser, a New York attorney who represents 28 Manhattan Club owners as a liaison with the AG's office, advised RedWeek that the appeals could take 12 to 14 months, or more. What this means is that, while the AG's investigation continues, resolution of the entire matter may be held up until AFTER the appeals are heard and ruled upon. This is the current status leading up to the Aug. 3 association meeting of TMC owners. As many readers of this forum recall, the TMC board, which is populated by Eichner appointees, declined to answer any questions about the case (or the club) at last year's meeting. They took that stand on advice of the same attorneys who are fighting the AG's case tooth and nail. If someone asked me to speculate about next week's meeting, I would expect the same positioning from the board. Meanwhile, there is a new class-action case on file, but it is in the very early stages of legal motions. At this point, sad to say, there is not much that individual owners can do to influence the pace or outcome of the legal proceedings, other than to stay informed and write letters to Rakower so she is aware of your concerns. One last point: many owners have asked RedWeek to mount another offsite meeting for owners, similar to what RedWeek.com and TimeSharing Today hosted one year ago. I want to assure all readers that we are actively discussing this but have no specific plans to offer at this time. Why? Because our goal is to educate and arm owners with information they can act upon. If the AG agreed to address owner issues at a public meeting, we would be glad to host it. However, the AG has flatly rebuffed all of RedWeek's efforts to get them to communicate directly, and openly, with owners. (Their reasoning: they don't want to say something in public that might jeopardize their investigation. Eichner's legal team uses the same rationale to avoid talking to the press about Eichner's defense. The AG's refusal to communicate may be an issue for owners to pursue. Their letters to Rakower were not only heard but referenced in her eight-page July 13 ruling on the depositions. On a personal level, if I was a Manhattan Club owner, I would put my efforts into contacting local elected officials and NY media to generate interest in my cause. I would not seek a new legal proceeding, since the key one (from the AG) is already two years down the road. And, lastly, I would participate in any owner-meetings that I could, including the Aug. 3 board meeting, to make sure my voice is heard amid all the din surrounding the Manhattan Club.
sueo79 wrote:For anyone who missed the call tonight - basically the lawyers are still trying to read and gather the Manhattan Club information, previous litigation, current litigation, etc... - but it's at least a start!!! Right now, all they are asking is if you are interested in pursuing anything (whether it be to just get out, or to stay and lower maintenance, or want damages for fraud) - you should email Jean Marc Zimmerman at his email: JMZ@ZIMLLP.COM he will most likely send you a questionnaire to fill in within the next week or so. Once he reviews many of them - we may do another conference call to discuss his strategy. thank you all for your patience on the call - it's not easy doing a call with many - but we did best we could
Vivien S.
Was there not a stipulation in the A. G. settlement regarding the make up of the M. C. Board? So, when is the next Board member election?The Board should be able to get a listing of all owners - after all, the owners have to be contacted and given a copy of the budget and info. as to when the membership meetings are to be held. My understanding of the agreement was that Eicher and his bunch are to sever all ties with the Manhattan Club and this would include serving on the Board of the Association.
Gail J.
This site is strangely quiet. This ought to be BIG. However, it's as if Zimmerman's history discourages people from sharing their opinions. Personally, I like the fact that he was described as "tireless." Clearly he is not afraid to "swim with the sharks." On the other hand, he doesn't strike me as a fighter for justice, as much as someone who makes good business decisions for himself, and maybe, for his client - not that I expect otherwise from a litigator. However, before getting involved with any attorney, I want to know (1) the status of the approved settlement and (2) how any proposed legal action is going to be funded. I think the answer to (2) will also tell us the attorney's honest assessment of our chance of success. I don't know how well the conference call was attended, so if acceptable to Redweek, I would hope that Mr. Zimmerman could submit a post on this site himself so that those of us who are interested could get an idea of his preliminary thoughts and hypothetical process.
Nathan Z.
Hi Of course I want a compensation after all these years complaining.or if not I want out I would not visit TMC anymore .I am not happy with their behaviour. My adress is in Argentina and I am not paying the fees since 2 years ago expecting the Attorney General trial. If there is something useful to try please e mail me to majofernandezcastano@hotmail.com Thank you Maria J.Fernandez Castaño
Maria J.
